Background

The physical, social, economic, and political contexts in which organizations operate influence their mission and organizational capacity – the available resources nonprofits use to carry out their purpose. The current study examines organizational capacity by uncovering strengthes and challenges of rural human service organizations (HSOs) in rural, persistently poor counties in the South. Also considered is the impact of the environmental context.

Methods

Through a qualitative, multiple case study approach, nine HSOs in Georgia, Kentucky, and Mississippi were studied using semi-structured interviews with high-level administrators and thematic analysis.

Results

HSOs were skilled at enduring change in their communities, problem-solving, worker retention, fundraising, financial accountability processes, and partnership-building. Challenges included formal assessment and evaluation, quantity of communications, staff and volunteer recruitment, and minimal formal planning. The communities involved presented contextual barriers such as racism, limited workers, and transportation.

Conclusions

The present study establishes connections between environmental context and organizational capacity that have been minimally explored. The identification of barriers, strengths, and challenges allows for future research and informs policy and practice that is critical to addressing the systemic problem of underinvestment in rural areas.

中文翻译：

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不仅仅是表面上的：非营利组织在贫困的南方农村地区的组织能力

背景

组织运营所在的物理、社会、经济和政治环境会影响其使命和组织能力——非营利组织用来实现其目标的可用资源。当前的研究通过揭示南方农村持续贫困县农村人类服务组织 (HSO) 的优势和挑战来检验组织能力。还考虑了环境背景的影响。

方法

通过定性、多案例研究方法，对佐治亚州、肯塔基州和密西西比州的九个 HSO 使用与高级管理人员的半结构化访谈和主题分析进行了研究。

结果

HSO 擅长在其社区中持续变革、解决问题、留住员工、筹款、财务问责流程和建立伙伴关系。挑战包括正式的评估和评估、沟通的数量、工作人员和志愿者的招募以及最少的正式规划。所涉及的社区存在环境障碍，例如种族主义、有限的工人和交通。

结论

本研究建立了环境背景和组织能力之间的联系，而这些联系已经很少被探索。识别障碍、优势和挑战有助于未来的研究，并为政策和实践提供信息，这对于解决农村地区投资不足的系统性问题至关重要。